Outdoor appétit: Blackened Snakehead with Piña Colada Salsa

Get “invasive” with Executive Chef Chad Wells of Alewife in Baltimore and his original recipe for Maryland’s “most wanted” fish,
the snakehead. This predator, which is invading the waters of our fair State, is a delicacy in Chinese and Thai recipes. Snakeheads are
native to Asia and Africa, but here in Maryland, they are destructive to the ecosystem and the best way to beat ‘em is to eat ‘em. Diners
who have tried them swear they are a surprisingly delicious treat!

Piña Colada Salsa

1 pineapple
1 can cream of coconut
1/2 of a bunch of cilantro
1 Habañero pepper (optional)Peel the pineapple and discard the skin.
Slice the pineapple length-wise into slices
about 1/4 inch thick.Dice the pineapple
into 1/4 inch squares.Place pineapple
squares into a mixing bowl.
Remove leaves from cilantro and roughly
chop, then add them to the mixing bowl
with the pineapple squares.
In a separate bowl add the cream of
coconut and stir with a fork until smooth, it
should be white in color. Set bowl aside
Combine 6 tablespoons of the cream of
coconut to the pineapple cilantro mixture
If you’d like it spicy, add 1 diced Habañero
pepper. Place salsa in refrigerator.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1 snakehead filet skinned and cut into 4
pieces.With a dry towel pat the flesh to remove
excess moisture.
Coat each
piece of fish on
one side with
a generous
amount of
blackening
seasoning. Place
a tablespoon
of cooking oil
into a cast iron
skillet or sauté
pan and place
over high heat. Once the pan has heated
(you’ll know its hot when the oil is about
to smoke and slides freely across the pan).
Place each piece of fish (seasoned side
down) on the pan and press gently with a
spatula.
Allow the fish to sear for approximately 3
minutes.
Gently turn fish over and sear for 1 minute.
Place the fish in the oven and cook until
desired temperature is reached (about 3-5
minutes depending on the thickness of the
filet).

To plate

Slice avocado and place on a plate, gently
season the avocado with kosher salt
Place Piña Colada Salsa on the center of
the plate then put blackened snakehead
on top of the Piña Colada Salsa
Garnish with roasted red pepper and
strawberries

“This recipe should work great with most
fish,” says Chef Wells. “I have used it in the
past with scallops and shrimp as well. You
can also mix Maryland crab meat with the
salsa and it goes great with plantain chips
or even tortillas.”

Win prizes for
snakehead demise

In an effort to stop the spread of the
invasive snakehead fish Maryland
DNR, the Potomac River Fisheries
Commission and the U. S. Fish &
Wildlife Service are offering prizes
for anglers who catch, kill and enter
photos of the snakeheads through
the Angler’s Log website.

Through December 31, 2011,
anyone who catches a Northern
snakehead with a hook-and-line
and posts the catch, including a
photo of the dead fish on DNR’s
Angler’s Log, will be entered into a
year-end drawing.

Anglers should report the
location of their snakehead catch as
specifically as possible and include
a ruler or another measuring device
in the photo to indicate the size of
the fish.

Prizes include a $200 rod and
tackle package, a Maryland State
Park Passport and a 2012 Potomac
River fishing license. The park
passport allows unlimited dayuse
entry for up to 10 people in a
vehicle, unlimited boat launching
at all State Park facilities and a 10
percent discount on State-operated
concessions and boat rentals.

The Northern snakehead is a
non-native fish species that was
illegally introduced to the Potomac
River, moved to its tributaries and
was recently found in the Rhode
River. As top predators, their
negative impacts to the ecosystem
and other important recreational
and commercially valued fisheries
could be significant.